Château Montrose 2023

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

Just as it was from barrel, the 2023 Montrose is one of the most compelling wines of the vintage. Unwinding in the glass with a brooding bouquet of cassis, violets and burning embers, it's full-bodied, with prodigious mid-palate density and dimension, its concentrated core of fruit underpinned by abundant but ultra-refined tannins and lively acids. Broad, penetrating and persistent, it's a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc. This is a very serious wine, carrying plenty of structure; but while it will certainly require some patience, today's more precise extraction and élevage choices mean that it will not mandate the 20-30 years of deferred gratification that were once the norm at this address, even if I'm convinced the 2023 will be just as long-lived as the classics of the past.

This large estate overlooking the Gironde in Saint-Estèphe produces some of Bordeaux's greatest and longest-lived wines, and the last 15 or so years have seen it benefit from sustained and intelligently directed investment. There's a brand-new winery and cellars, of course, but there's a lot of work going on in the vineyards too. When Olivier and Martin Bouygues acquired Château Montrose from the Charmolüe family in 2006, the estate included fully 17 hectares of pre-clonal vines dating back to the early 20th century, and a massal selection program has since identified 80 viable individuals, mainly Cabernet Sauvignon, for use when replanting (the same efforts are currently being lavished on Merlot, drawing on a block behind the château acquired from Phélan-Ségur). Now, cover crops are being trialed, and the soils are being cultivated more superficially to avoid disrupting the microbiome. Winemaking is rather classical, with maturation in some 60% new oak.

In 2023, Montrose was largely spared by mildew, receiving less rain than many other estates in June, and harvest rolled out between September 5 and 28. As in 2022, the grand vin this year derives exclusively from the Terrace 4 gravels in front of the estate itself, Montrose's historic core terroir. Readers looking for more information about this de-facto first growth are directed to my feature published in the December 2023 Week 3 issue of The Wine Advocate.

Jeb Dunnuck

One of the wines of the vintage, the 2023 Château Montrose sports a vivid purple hue as well as awesome aromatics of crème de cassis, fresh blackcurrants, graphite, crushed stone, tobacco, and violets. It's medium to full-bodied and has a concentrated, layered, seamless mouthfeel, flawless balance, fine polished tannins, and a blockbuster of a finish. Based on 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, and 4% Cabernet Franc and aged 18 months in 60% new French oak, it stays in the more aristocratic style of the vintage and is an utterly sensational, deep, multi-dimensional Montrose. It's one for the ages, yet I suspect it will be approachable within a reasonable time frame as well. Drink 2030-2078.

James Suckling

A new benchmark for Montrose. Extremely aromatic and beautiful, with lavender, violets, pencil shavings and black currants on the nose. Complex and medium-bodied. The muscular structure and intensity are something else. The purity of fruit is dreamy. Marks a new era for Montrose. It is now made from only 45 hectares of vineyards right in front of the chateau instead of about 60 hectares before. From organically grown grapes. 75% cabernet sauvignon, 21% merlot and 4% cabernet franc. Best after 2030.

Jane Anson - Inside Bordeaux

Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider

Simply off the hook in every sense of the word, this is what great wine is all about. For those that crave more details, in the aromatics, with little effort you find smoke, mint, licorice, exotic spices, flowers, crushed rocks, black raspberry, blackberries and currants On the show-stopping palate, there is a gorgeous sense of purity, as well as power, balanced with lift, and elegance. The wine is long, complex, and refined. The wine is intense and refined, with a lingering, expansive finish that hits the 60 second mark and keeps on going as it builds and escalates. The wine is a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, and 4% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2030-2065.